PAIA Manual

Prepared in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA), as amended.

Last updated: 20 September 2026

1. Introduction

This manual has been prepared for Digital Africa Group, trading as DigiAfrica, to assist people who wish to exercise rights of access to records in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 and to provide information required by section 51 of PAIA and related provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

Access to a record is not automatic merely because the record exists. Requests are considered in accordance with PAIA, including the procedural requirements and lawful grounds on which access may or must be refused.

2. Details of the private body

Legal entity: Digital Africa Group
Registration number: K2019581952
Trading name: DigiAfrica
Head of the private body and PAIA contact: Storm de Robillard
Business address: 194 Station Road
Postal / service address: 194 Station Road
Telephone: +27 78 646 0656
Email: admin@digiafrica.co.za
Website: https://www.digiafrica.co.za/

3. The PAIA Guide

The Information Regulator publishes a Guide explaining how to use PAIA, the rights available to requesters, the procedures for requesting records, applicable forms and fees, and the remedies available when access is refused.

The Guide, PAIA forms and current guidance are available from the Information Regulator's PAIA resources.

4. Records that may be available without a formal PAIA request

Some information is publicly available without submitting a formal PAIA request. This may include:

  • information published on the DigiAfrica website;
  • service descriptions and public pricing information;
  • published articles and resources;
  • the DigiAfrica Privacy Policy;
  • the DigiAfrica Terms and Conditions of Service;
  • public company and contact information;
  • marketing material and public social-media content.

Public availability does not mean that every underlying working file, system record or confidential business document is automatically available.

5. Legislation under which records may be held

Digital Africa Group may hold records required under South African legislation applicable to its activities. Depending on the circumstances, this may include records required under or relating to:

  • Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000;
  • Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013;
  • Companies Act 71 of 2008;
  • Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002;
  • Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, where applicable;
  • Income Tax Act 58 of 1962;
  • Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991, where applicable;
  • Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, where applicable;
  • Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, where applicable;
  • other tax, employment, commercial, intellectual-property, communications or regulatory laws applicable to particular services or records.

6. Categories of records held

Records held by Digital Africa Group may include the following categories:

Company and governance records

  • company registration and statutory records;
  • policies, procedures and internal governance records;
  • contracts, agreements and legal correspondence;
  • insurance and compliance records where applicable.

Client and project records

  • enquiries, proposals, quotations and statements of work;
  • client agreements, instructions and approvals;
  • project briefs, content, designs and deliverables;
  • support requests and service history;
  • website, hosting, domain, platform and system records provided or created for service delivery;
  • campaign, reporting and analytics records where applicable.

Financial and administrative records

  • invoices, quotations and payment records;
  • accounting and tax records;
  • supplier and procurement records;
  • expense and transaction records.

Marketing and sales records

  • prospect and business contact information;
  • marketing preferences and suppression records;
  • campaign and lead-generation records;
  • CRM records and sales correspondence;
  • website and marketing performance information.

Technology and security records

  • website and hosting configuration records;
  • domain and DNS records;
  • system access and change records;
  • backup, security and incident records;
  • server and technical logs;
  • software, licence and integration records.

People and supplier records

  • employee and contractor records where applicable;
  • supplier and service-provider records;
  • professional and business contact information;
  • contracts, confidentiality obligations and related correspondence.

7. Processing of personal information

Further detail about DigiAfrica's processing of personal information is available in our Privacy Policy. For PAIA section 51 purposes, the following summary applies.

Purposes of processing

Personal information may be processed to respond to enquiries, enter into and manage client relationships, deliver services, provide support, administer billing and accounts, manage suppliers and contractors, operate and secure websites and systems, conduct lawful marketing and lead-generation activity, measure performance, comply with legal obligations and protect legal rights.

Categories of data subjects

  • clients and client representatives;
  • prospective clients and business contacts;
  • website visitors and people who submit enquiries;
  • suppliers, service providers and contractors;
  • employees or job applicants where applicable;
  • users, customers or contacts whose information is processed on behalf of a DigiAfrica client.

Categories of personal information

  • identity and contact information;
  • company, role and professional information;
  • communications and enquiry information;
  • billing, transaction and account information;
  • project and service information;
  • technical, device, IP-address and system-log information;
  • marketing preferences and opt-out records;
  • employment or contractor information where applicable.

Recipients or categories of recipients

Information may be supplied where necessary and lawful to hosting and cloud providers, email providers, payment or accounting providers, software and platform providers, marketing or analytics providers, contractors involved in service delivery, professional advisers, regulators, law-enforcement bodies or other recipients required by law.

Cross-border processing

Some cloud, software, hosting, email, advertising and support providers may process information outside South Africa. Where personal information is transferred across borders, DigiAfrica takes reasonable steps to use arrangements that support the protection required by POPIA.

Information security measures

DigiAfrica uses reasonable technical and organisational safeguards appropriate to the systems and information involved. Measures may include access controls, authentication, updates, backups, hosting controls, security monitoring, limited access, supplier controls and incident-management procedures.

8. How to request access to a record

A person requesting access to a record under PAIA should use the prescribed Form 2: Request for Access to Record and provide sufficient information to identify the requester, the record requested and the right that the record is required to exercise or protect.

Current PAIA forms are available from the Information Regulator.

Requests relating to Digital Africa Group may be sent to:

PAIA contact: Storm de Robillard
Email: admin@digiafrica.co.za
Address: 194 Station Road
Telephone: +27 78 646 0656

DigiAfrica may request additional information reasonably necessary to identify the record, verify the requester or process the request.

9. Fees

Fees prescribed under PAIA and the applicable regulations may be payable for certain requests, searches, preparation, reproduction or delivery of records. Where a fee is lawfully payable, the requester will be informed of the amount and payment requirements.

10. Decision on a request

DigiAfrica will consider a valid request within the periods prescribed by PAIA. Access may be granted in full, granted in part, or refused where PAIA permits or requires refusal.

11. Grounds on which access may be refused

PAIA contains mandatory and discretionary grounds for refusing access to certain records. Depending on the record, these may include protection of another person's privacy, confidential information, commercial or financial interests, safety and security, legally privileged information, research information, intellectual property or other interests protected by PAIA.

Where only part of a record is protected and the remainder can reasonably be separated, access may be considered for the portion that may lawfully be disclosed.

12. Remedies if access is refused

A requester who is dissatisfied with the outcome of a PAIA request to a private body may have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator or approach a competent court in accordance with PAIA and the applicable regulations.

The Information Regulator's complaint services are available through its eServices portal. General enquiries may be sent to enquiries@inforegulator.org.za or made by telephone on 010 023 5200.

13. Availability of this manual

This manual is available free of charge on the DigiAfrica website. A copy may also be requested from DigiAfrica using the contact details above. Subject to reasonable arrangements, the manual may be inspected at the principal place of business during normal business hours.

14. Updating this manual

Digital Africa Group will review and update this manual when material changes to its operations, records, processing activities or legal obligations make an update necessary.